The Kawthoung-Ranong border gate has been allowed to reopen as an international entry and exit point, so it is now possible to pass through using passports.
The border crossing between Kawthoung city in southern Myanmar and Ranong city in southern Thailand has been approved since March 7.
For this permission, travellers have been able to visit Thailand and Myanmar with passport and CI books.
"I heard that the immigration departments of the two countries issued letters and gave permission. As before, they can go with temporary border pass (TBP) and border pass (BP), and they can go with passports now, so third-party citizens can visit. We can see people walking around holding passports near Kawthoung beach," said a resident of Kawthoung.
It is written in the statement that the Chairman of the State Administration Council has given the permission to fully reopen the Kawthoung-Ranong border gate and Htee Kee- Phu Nam Ron border gate, the two permanent border gates in Tanintharyi Region.
"Yesterday, I suddenly found out that people can travel to Thailand using passports. Before that, Thai tourism business associations came to Kawthoung to promote tourism and to allow Thai citizens to visit the islands and travel with passports. After that, it is known that both countries agreed it. So it will be more convenient for the people and migrant workers as now is the time for holidays," said a local.
Since people are allowed to travel with a visa, they can travel in and out without any hassle. A migrant worker said that although there were official documents in the past, only TBP and BP were allowed, so they had to sneak out.
Regarding the reopening of international entry and exit points proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, the Kawthoung-Ranong border gate in Tanintharyi Region was opened in accordance with the travel requirements of the Ministry of Health. The Kawthoung-Ranong border gate, which has been closed since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, started the entry using TBP and BP on June 1, 2022, and on March 7, 2023, it is reported that travellers can visit using passport and CI books.
